Stairs
by Neukar
Summary: It's September 11, 2001. On this horrific and fateful day, Ryo is asked by the Cheif to interveiw coworkers of a suspect in murder case, all working in the North Tower of the World Trade Center... On the nintieth floor...


**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the news broadcasts. Rawr. 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' is copyrighted solely to Green Day. And FAKE chatactors, storyline, etc is owned by Sanami Matoh.**

**However, any future drawings from this story, (and they shall come in the near future, hopefully), are copyrighted to me.  
I am working on editing this, bear with me. This fic took a long as hell time to plan and research. I now have about 23 links in my boomarks relating to 9/11. I'm still researching, trying to get street names, events, etc. **

**The 19th Precinct (which they move into in the 7th volume) is a real place. Yayyyy. That really helped me map out that part of Manhattan. I am not, nor ever will be a New York citizen, so my timing on how-long-it-takes-to-get-where is most likely off. However, the Times of the events, planes hitting the towers, the collapse, etc, are accurate.**

**--------- **

_Summer has come and passed,_

_The innocent can never last…_

_Wake me up,_

_When September ends…_

**Tuesday, September 11th, 2001**

**Ryo's apartment.**

**6:05 am**

Poke.

Poke.

"Dee."

"…"

Poke poke.

"Wake up."

No response.

Poke…

… Poke poke…

SPLASH.

"Jesus Christ!" The raven-haired man scrambled out of the bed, dripping wet.

"I'm Ryo, sorry. Wrong name." Dark eyes sparkled with laughter as he eyed his lover, sputtering and coughing. He set the now-empty glass on the nightstand.

"Nonsense. You're my Adonis." There was a flash of a grin, and strong arms pulled Ryo down, cutting his laughter short. "And your body is a temple to be worshipped…" There was a sharp intake of breath as teeth grazed an earlobe.

"DEE! Let me go. You're all wet." Ryo blushed and rolled his eyes, as his demands were not met.

"Not my fault, now is it?" Warm air caused the small hairs on the back of the chestnut haired man's neck to rise.

"Dammit, stop it Dee. We have work today, remember?" Working his way out of the vice-like grip, Ryo glided over to the bathroom. He made sure to take extra precautions as to not disturb Bikky in the next room.

The younger man yawned, and lay on his back, eagle-spread on the covers of the unmade bed. "But Ryoooooo. It's so earlyyyyy…"

"And this is my fault how, exactly, Dee? After all, I wasn't the one who locked JJ in a broom closet." Ryo's voice floated from the bathroom.

"Psht. Am I to blame that he's klutzy enough to trip and lock himself in said closet."

"Trip? Oh please. You had witnesses, you jerk."

**27th (formerly 19th) Precinct**

**7:16 am**

And yet another yawn.

"I'm going to go get another mug of coffee. Want anything, babe?" Dee cracked his neck and stood.

Ryo didn't look up from his paper work. "Sure. Throw in a bit of cream while you're at it."

Dee grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Cream? I would have thought you'd have had enough of that last night…" Came the teasing reply.

The reaction was immediate. Ryo choked and reddened. "D-DEE! PERVERT!"

"Wha-at? It's true, is it not?" The grin never left his face. "Oh, and I love your lobster act. You pull it off nicely."

Still red, Ryo didn't say anything. Instead he threw a foamy stress ball at his partner. Dee deftly caught it. He eyed it for a moment, and squeezed it.

"You know-"

"OUT. And don't come back until you've got the coffee." Ryo snarled through gritted teeth.

"Hmpf. Fine, slave-driver. Keep in mind I'm running down three flights of stairs for you and your caffeine urge." The man left the room, grumbling.

"Excuse me? MY caffeine urge? You're the one who offered! Besides," Ryo added as an afterthought. "There's always the elevator, you know!"

As Dee returned with the coffee, the Chief followed none-too-subtly behind.

"Hey you two. What's the zip code for the World Trade Center complex?"

Dee stared. "Er…"

"It's 10048, isn't it?" Ryo asked brow furrowed. "At least, I think it is… It's so large it has it's own zip code."

"Ding-ding-ding! Congratulations, Detective MaClean. You've earned a field trip. Deliver these files to floor 90 in 1 WTC. There you'll meet one of the officer's from the Bronx station –you should recognize him-, and the two of you will interview the co-workers of that one suspect."

"Hey! What about me, you damn badger? I'M his partner, after all. What am I supposed to do?" Dee cut in.

"YOU can do the paper work that YOU have either been slacking off on or making Randy do, Laytner. One more word of complaint, and you'll be back on traffic duty." The Chief turned to Ryo. "The subway will get you there quicker. Have fun."

"Er- Yes sir." Ryo said, sweat-dropping.

"Bah!" Dee threw up his hands and dropped into his chair, sulking. "Have fun without me. Looks like running down those three flights of stairs for coffee was pointless. "

The dark-eyed detective chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll run down as many flights of stairs as you want, one of these days, just for you."

**8:14 am**

**E-Line of NYC subway**

Ryo winced at the squeal of the wheels as the train rolled to a stop. He had boarded the subway just a few blocks from the 27th Precinct, thanking the Gods that the Subway station wasn't too far away. After studying a map, he figured the E-line would take him directly to the World Trade Complex. Although if he wanted to get there a few minutes quicker, he could have jumped from train to train. It was just less risk of taking the wrong line this way...

...From what he could tell, his destination was in just a few more stops. He was jerked out of his thoughts by the ringing of a cellular phone. Other passengers began to check theirs, as Ryo realized it was his.

"MaClean."

"Hey, baby." The unmistakable voice sounded tense on the other line.

"Yeah, Dee? Something wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just got an odd feeling, and wanted to make sure you were okay. Heh. How cheesy do I sound, honestly? It's probably just the post-orgasm glow still clinging a few hours over."

Ryo blinked, and tried not to twitch at the bluntness. Dee was never one to over-react from his emotions, post-orgasm or no. "Er… yeah, I'm fine."

"That's good, that's good…" There was an awkward silence, and Dee gave a small cough.

"Oh, uhrm… When our shift's over, or if I'm back in time for a lunch break, do you, er, want to go out and do something together?" Ryo mumbled quickly.

"Oh?" Dee didn't bother to hide his surprise. "Like what?"

"I don't know… It's a nice day, so maybe we could grab a hotdog at the park?" He yawned, and closed his eyes.

"Oooh… A hotdog, eh? And who's hot dog would I be grabbing?" Dee's seductive voice carried his grin through the phone.

Ryo's eyes shot open. "Pervert!" He said, a little too loudly. People around him stared. Blushing, he lowered his eyes. "Jesus, Dee. Behave yourself. And be serious."

"I am serious." Ryo could just see Dee's grin. He gave a mock-sigh.

"Right. Well, I think this is my stop. I'll call you back later when I'm done with this case, okay?"

"Damn. Fine. Hurry back. I promise not to cheat on you while you're not here."

Ryo chuckled. "You better not. Oh, and Dee?"

"Hrm?"

"Lose whatever tingly feelings you have. I promise that nothing will happen to me just because I'm not by your side for a couple of hours."

"Hardy-freaking-har. Love you, sweetheart."

There was a taken aback pause. "…Love you too, Dee."

**Floor 90 of 1 WTC**

**8:43 am**

"Thank you for your help, Mr. McSullivan." Ryo said, to the office worker.

"No problem. I mean, wow. Billy never seemed the type to be, well, you know. Involved with drugs. And I would have never guessed that he would have killed someone." The older man explained, shaking his head.

"Yes, unfortunately, that's the case with a lot of people." Detective Stotan muttered. "Come on, Mr. MaClean. We've got a floor full of people to interview still."

The two detectives turned and left McSullivan's office. Ryo began to raise his hand to knock on the next office door, when the mustached blonde detective stopped him. "That's my wife's office. She was hired after the arrest. She has no information."

Ryo blinked. "Oh, er, okay then."

"Yeah. Trust me, she's already been talked to." The officer shook his head. "Bah. Next on the list is Michael Cortez, age 23. Apparently he was a close friend of the suspect."

"He wasn't taken in for questioning first?"

"Nah. He was, but we think he may have been with holding vital information. He was released after his lawyer pinned us."

"It's cases like these that are the most difficult." Ryo sighed. "It's all, the vic-" He was cut off my a woman's scream from the floor above them. Then he heard it: The roaring sound, like a subway train. "What the-"

There was the sound of an explosion, and the building shook. Ryo fell to the floor.

**27th Precinct**

**Laytner-MaClean Office**

**8:47 am**

Dee sat at his desk, fighting the urge to doodle all over his paperwork. He wasn't surprised when he heard JJ's annoying voice, carrying through the halls. Nor was he surprised when JJ bolted into his office without knocking, screaming his name. However, he was surprised when the smaller man attacked the small TV he had, vigorously trying to find a news channel.

"What the HELL, JJ! Get out of my office!"

"DEE! Oh God, Dee, It's horrible!" His face looked stricken.

"WHAT? Calm down and tell me what's going on. Did someone important get shot?" Dee rolled his eyes.

"The World Trade center was just hit by a plane! See!" JJ made a crude gesture towards the television.

"_Yeah. This just in. You're looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. CNN Center is just beginning to work on this story, obviously, calling our sources and trying to figure out exactly what happened, but clearly something relatively devastating happening this morning there on the south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again, a picture of one of the towers of the World Trade Center."_ Anchor Carol Lin of CNN reported. (A/N: This is the actual news broadcast.)

Dee paled significantly. JJ had to strain his ears to hear his voice. "Oh God. No. No, please, no…"

"Dee…?"

"**All officers report to room D12 and wait to be debriefed." **The Chief's voice came over the intercom, loud and clear.

Dee seemed to snap out of his moment of shock, and raced out of the office. As he rounded the corner to the stairs, he bumped into a firm, suit-clad chest.

"And where are you going, Mr. Laytner?" Berkeley Rose's voice flowed smoothly and evenly. "If I remember correctly, D12 is on your floor."

"Get outta my way, Rose." Dee growled, through gritted teeth.

"Oh? And why should I?" Rose asked, tauntingly.

"Ryo's in there." Dee's voice lowered, and became shaky. "R-Ryo's in the North Tower, upper floors." He did not bother to hide his moistening eyes.

Rose's eyes widened, shock written over his face. "Laytner, if you directly disobey your superior's one more time, you'll be on suspension with out pay."

"You bastard! Do you actually think I ca-"

Rose reached into his pocket, before holding out a set of keys. "These will give you access to the police-issued motorbikes. Those will get you there faster than by foot or car." He held up a finger. "Furthermore, I advise you not to do anything stupid that will get you or anyone else killed. That is a direct order from your superior. Do not make me regret this, Laytner. And… Get Ryo back in one piece, safe and sound."

Dee grabbed the keys and shot the commissioner a thankful look, before continuing his trek down the stairs, to find his lover.

**27th Precinct**

**Room D-12.**

**8:53 am**

"DAMMIT! Has anyone seen Laytner and MaClean!" Chief Smith roared as everyone, except Ryo and Dee, had filled the room.

"I just sent Dee to the North Tower. Apparently you sent Ryo there this morning?" Rose snapped sharply.

The Chief's eyes narrowed. "Oh shit. Okay people, listen up! This is the basic situation, to be blunt and honest. The North Tower of the World Trade Center was just struck by a plane, a direct hit. We aren't sure the degree of damage, but it's a bad situation. We will split into various teams, and try to control the initial panic level…"

**Back streets of South Manhattan, several blocks from the WTC.**

**9:03 am**

Dee shot through the back alleys and streets like a madman. On the occasion that he did cross a busy street, people would quickly jump away, the siren and flashing lights for than enough to keep them out of his path. He didn't even want to think how about how long it would take him to reach his destination, with or without shortcuts through back roads. He was speeding down a busier street, when he glanced up. The motorbike screeched as it came it an abrupt halt.

Dee watched, spellbound, as a large plane neared the second tower. He could not hold back a choked cry, as it slammed into the building, a flash of an explosion of flames, and a column of thick, black, smoke mingling with the first tower's.

People all around him were screaming and running. Any thoughts he had previously about whether this was an accident, dashed away as quickly as they came. This was intentional; there was no doubt in his mind. And if Ryo were hurt, or worse –'_don't think that_,' he reminded himself-, someone would pay…

'Please, Ryo. Please have been on the lower floors. Gods, baby, please…' 

Silent tears streaming down his face, he revved the motorbike back up, and sped towards the disaster zone, heart pounding like a jackhammer.

**27th Precinct**

**9:59 am**

Rose had decided to stay at the office with a few other officers, to handle the phone calls.His small television set was set on CNN. He was on the phone with one of the local hospitals. Apparently, most of the victims coming in were either burnt or cut up from the falling debris, yet there was no chestnut-haired, dark-eyed man fitting Ryo's description.

"I'm sorry, sir. Perhaps he was sent to another hospital?"

"Maybe." Rose didn't bother mentioning the possibility of Ryo being among those in the upper floors that had been incinerated, or being among the jumpers. The TV suddenly captured his attention. "Holy Jesus!"

"Sir? Sir, are you okay?"

"I'm… I'm fine. Thank you, Ma'am. But… you're about to get busier. The south Tower just collapsed."

He hung up before he could hear her response. He sat at his desk, hands on his temples. A large lump in his throat refused to go away, and his shoulders sagged.

The television showed the large cloud of dust and debris, the flames, rising up and over the other buildings and streets, like an enormous blanket.

Ryo wasn't the only person in the buildings. After all, there were other workers. Rose fought to not think of the doomed souls in the fallen tower...


End file.
